UTMB®

Mountain race, with numerous passages in high altitude (>2500m), in difficult weather conditions (night, wind, cold, rain or snow), that needs a very good training, adapted equipment and a real capacity of personal autonomy.

It is 6:00pm and we are more or less 2300 people sharing the same dream carefully prepared over many months. Despite the incredible difficulty, we feel serene thanks to the help and comfort offered with by 2000 volunteers who in a spirit of sharing and friendship are ready to partake in the same adventure.We are about to take off on a dream-world adventure.We will be rubbing shoulders with Aiguille de Bionnassay and crossing Col du Bonhomme by moonlight. At sunrise, we will cross Col de la Seigne into Italy and the magical Val Veni overlooked by Noire du Peuterey and the glaciers descending Mont Blanc. Later we will reach the Val Ferret, guarded by Dent du Géant and Grandes Jorasses before finally turning into Switzerland to relish the beautifully protected countryside.

We will have to put up with fatigue, to overcome our fears and anxieties. Some participants, having pushed their limits to the extreme, will choose to break off the race keeping intact their hopes to make it from beginning to end at some later date. They will be rewarded for their achievement and their names will be added to the list with everyone else at the end of the race.

The others will climb over Bovine and Les Tseppes. Then, with Aiguille Verte in front of them, under the vertical heights of the Drus and with majestic presence of Mont Blanc before them, they will dive down towards the finishing line in the heart of Chamonix.